Huntington Beach residents voted to pass Measures A and B during a special election held on June 10, consequently repealing the city’s Community Parent Guardian Review Board and approving stricter city procedures to prevent the privatization of public libraries, respectively. As of June 18, Measure A passed with 58.38% of voters voting yes and Measure B passed with 60.53% of voters voting yes.
The passage of Measure A will repeal Chapter 2.66 of the Huntington Beach Municipal Code, which was established through Ordinance 4318 in April 2024. This ordinance created the Community Parent Guardian Review Board — a board of up to 21 members tasked with reviewing children’s books in the city’s five libraries. In addition to striking Chapter 2.66, Measure A included the addition of a new section, 2.30.090, to the Municipal Code that establishes policies for the selection and use of library materials. The Orange County Registrar of Voters verified an adequate amount of signatures in January to trigger a special election on the review board’s status.
Although the board was never formally established, board members would have had the authority to relocate certain children’s books to a restricted section of the library, limiting access to materials by requiring guardian approval. The board also would have had the ability to prevent libraries from purchasing new books that were deemed outside of community standards.
Supporters of Measure A advocated to eliminate the review board, arguing that it could lead to the censorship of library materials. The newly added Section 2.30.090, states that materials “shall not be excluded from the library collection because of the origin, background or views of those contributing to the creation of the materials, or because of the topic addressed by the materials or the views expressed in the materials.”
Section 2.30.090 further states that library materials should reflect diverse perspectives and ensure public access to a broad range of ideas and experiences.
Opponents of Measure A argue that eliminating the Community Parent Guardian Review Board would take away community and parent input in determining what children can access in the city’s public libraries, along with the ability to protect children from exposure to materials some view as “lewd or pornographic.”
Measure B enforces the prevention of privatization by requiring several rounds of approval before any management changes can occur.
With the passing of Measure B, Section 2.30.100 was added to the Municipal Code. Among other things, the new section prohibits the sale, lease or transfer of any public library owned and operated by the city as of March 19, 2024, or acquired thereafter. It will block private companies from managing library services unless one of three conditions are met: if the service was already outsourced between Jan. 1, 2018, and March 19, 2024; if the city declares a fiscal emergency; or if a proposed change is approved by both a majority of the City Council and a majority of voters in a general or special election.
The argument against Measure B claims that it would undermine the City Council’s authority to manage the budget of public libraries. It states that Measure B could threaten the city’s financial stability by preventing necessary adjustments to library operations during a financial crisis.
Huntington Beach Mayor Patrick J. Burns, Mayor Pro Tem Casey McKeon and Councilwoman Gricelda Aide Larrea Van Der Mark signed statements opposing both measures.
The statement clarified that the existing law prior to Measure A did not ban books, but rather relocated certain books to “age-appropriate sections of the Library.”
In a Huntington Beach Community Facebook Forum McKeon wrote that the Community Parent Guardian Review Board is an “added layer of protection to review children’s books that are procured by the Library.”
“Shouldn’t that be our default position,” McKeon wrote. “to add extra layers of protection to ensure our children aren’t inadvertently exposed to sexually explicit and pornographic material without their parent’s consent?”
Campaign Manager of the Our Libraries Matter movement, Spencer Hagaman, advocated and campaigned for the passing of both measures.
“The majority of Huntington Beach voters agree: free people read freely. We are united in protecting our libraries. No one will take away our freedom to read,” he told Voice of OC.
According to their website, the Our Libraries Matter movement seeks to “safeguard the essential role of libraries in our community.” The movement is made up of community members who want to ensure libraries are “places of learning, exploration, and connection.”
After the special election, Councilman Chad Williams — who opposed the measures — issued a statement to Voice of OC calling for unity.
“We can so easily forget, or take it for granted, just how good we have it in Huntington Beach. We have it so good! Let’s do our best to remember that the things that unite us, are far greater than the things that separate us,” Williams wrote.
Noosha Taghdiri is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at taghdirn@uci.edu.